Letter from Superintendent

From the Superintendent Amy Ruzicka baylessk12.org @BaylessSchools

Dear Bayless Community, As the first semester of the 2022-2023 school year draws to a close, two words come to mind: community and momentum. For this issue of , we are focusing on community, because it is through the strength and dedication of the Bayless community we have accomplished so much over the past 154 years. The Oxford Dictionary defines community as “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.” Here at Bayless, we are committed to a common goal: Every student will be Smart, Good, and Strong. This fall, our community came together in a number of ways to help realize this. Bayless hosted an ELL Family Night on September 20 to provide families with more information about our English Language Program, school procedures and important resources. Approximately 40 families attended the event and were able to make an important connection with their child’s school. Bayless currently services over 300 English Language Learners with 35 different native languages and is continuously growing the program. Interpreters, ELL specialists, counselors, nurses, technology specialists, college counselors, district leaders and other staff members all attended to support our families. The first Bayless Homecoming Festival was attended by over 950 community members on October 15. Staff members, families, students and community members from 18 different clubs and organizations shared their time, talent, and treasure to help achieve several common goals: community, connection and commitment to supporting our programs. Attendees enjoyed delicious food, live music and fun with 26 different games and activities. Over $7,000 was raised for Bayless clubs and organizations; 100% of which directly benefits our students. The first Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) Hiring Fair welcomed 29 community businesses from fields such as healthcare, skilled trades, education, military, food service, and the public sector to Bayless High School on November 17. This student-led event was facilitated by JAG Specialist Bobby Kelting, in collaboration with the Affton-Lemay Chamber of Commerce. In addition to exposing students, alumni and community members to the plentiful opportunities that exist in our region, the event further strengthened the district’s partnership with community businesses and the Chamber of Commerce.

These are just a few of the many incredible things this community can accomplish together. This entire issue of is dedicated to celebrating what makes the Bayless Community so special through the voices of alumni, students, parents, and staff members – some of whom have been part of the community for over 50 years. In Fellowship,

Amelia A. Ruzicka Superintendent of Schools

A community of character

Luella Losielle’s past at BSD equipping her for the now

By Mr. Stephen Terrill - Marketing and Communications Coordinator

Growing up in a multicultural community with a strong character is something that can serve people in all parts of life.

Such is the case for BSD graduate Luella Losielle.

Luella is currently employed by Saint Louis University, but she came to Bayless in second grade and stayed there until she graduated in 2013.

Before coming to Bayless, she attended kindergarten and first grade at Woerner Elementary school in the St. Louis Public School system. She and her siblings lived in the city’s Bevo Mill neighborhood, but enrolled at Bayless through the Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation. VICC is a program created in the 1980s aimed at desegregating schools in St. Louis City and County.

After graduation, she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at SLU, where she found a place she wanted to stay. Her current job, Program Coordinator in the Cross Cultural Center for Global Citizenship, is within SLU’s Diversity and Community Engagement division.

“Our office is a campus resource that provides initiatives and programming events that help enrich people’s understanding and knowledge of diversity, equity and inclusion,” Losielle said. “I help lead and organize these initiatives like Atlas Week — which is a 20-year tradition.”

Atlas Week, an event Losielle puts on yearly, is a week for the different departments at SLU to showcase the international component of their programs. It involves a Parade of Nations and a variety of lectures and conferences. This year’s theme will be “Chasing the Echoes of Freedom in the 21st Century.”

Losielle was put in a unique situation when she first started. The person who had been directing Atlas Week for the past 18 years left, and the planning of the event was passed onto her.

“I hesitantly stepped in as a graduate assistant,” Losielle said. “It’s a lot of work, a lot of stressful nights. I am just so proud of what people have put together in the five years I’ve been doing this.”

Losielle said she was uniquely prepared to work with a diverse student group because of her multicultural experience at Bayless.

“(It helped having an) already developed appreciation and understanding of diversity – knowing about different cultural identities,” Losielle said. “With (Bayless’s) Bosnian population, they ended up scheduling professional development days during Ramadan to coincide with their schedules.

“Getting to learn more about that culture and other immigrant populations that attend there – I think as a whole, the Bayless School District is small, so students can develop that relationship with one another. Everyone was cool with one another, not as cliquey as they might be at larger schools. You can move around in the groups. It was a really chill vibe.”

Losielle said she thinks the chill vibe is a testament to the character of those in the Bayless community.

“Bayless has the character education designations,” Losielle said. “It takes very strong character to be able to have such diverse people come together in community.”

4

Magazin Issue 2020